Orders from Captain Zeep

While we’re waiting for the Hunab-ku Majik Mixes to start streaming in, I thought it prudent to cleanse the palate with a minimal-psy mix, preparing the brain with some space and structure in anticipation of the psychedelic onslaught I hope to see arriving in my Inbox soon!

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DJ:  Marsh
Title:  Orders from Captain Zeep
Length: 90:38
Size:   139MB
Format: MP3 (LAME v3.98.2, -V2)

Tracklist
01 Intro
02 Lurifax  – Lobo (remix) [IBOGACD05]
03 Necton – Beethoven [DIGCD001]
04 Beat Bizarre – Monochrome [IBOGACD06]
05 Prisoners Of The Sun – Candy From The Strange Side [SUNCD003]
06 Reefer Decree – Percaution [IBOGACD04]
07 Martian Reefer – Glow of Dawn [IBOGACD02]
08 Bitmonx vs Fabio – Erdbeer-Kiwi [IBOGACD03]
09 Bigwigs – Vibra Fon [PARKCD001]
10 Magnetrixx – Intraferences [TATSU006CD]
11 X.V. Kilist – Gurgel [SPITINCD001]
12 Son Kite – Hi-Fi Stomp Session [DIGCD003]
13 Bigwigs – Pierwszy Raz [MDCD004]
14 Tromesa – Granula Masy [SPITINCD003]
15 Peak Pilots – Smelling Trap [SPITINCD001]
16 Beat Bizarre – Brain Drain (remix) [IBOGACD06]
17 Tegma – X-Calibur [DIGCD005]
18 Antix – Rainstick [PARKCD002]
19 Amphasis – Slice [PARKCD013]
20 12 Moons – Bad Pets [DIGCD005]
21 Parasense – Frozen [NBRCD001]
22 Outro

About
In the late-nineties and early-2000s (ca. 1999-2001) the psytrance scene experienced a bit of a backlash against the full-on maximal, hyper-melodic, and ultra-tweaky sound that was dominant at the time. Out of the Scandinavian and German arenas emerged a new sound characterized by a much more minimal feel, accentuating the atmosphere around the sounds – and often the space created by lack of sound – than the previous years. Retaining most of the psychedelic trance track structure and the basic kick/hi-hat/bassline patterns that much of the Goa trance genre had thus far established, this was anything but Goa trance. It undoubtedly was, however, still psychedelic and still trance. Sort of a precursor to the “progressive psy” sound that many of the featured artists are still producing to this day (and quite successfully, I might add) this is proto-prog-psy. Much to the chagrin of many psytrancers at the time, new labels like Iboga, Plastik Park, Digital Structures, and Tatsu started infusing the psytrance landscape with these minimal releases. It was a dark time for the melodic-loving masses, but ushered in a new take on the whole idea of what was “psytrance”.

This is a mix I’ve honestly tried to put together about four times and have never quite nailed it, but this time I think I’ve got something that shakes the booty. There were a couple of factors requiring a different tact when mixing this set, especially when compared to the heavily-layered Goa trance that is most common here at the Ranch. First, the tracks require quicker mix-ins/outs than the epic compositions of earlier psytrance, with each track playing for a less amount of time before another one comes in. While many of the tracks really get going (especially those featured in the last half of the mix) some of them can take a good 3 minutes to really start moving somewhere, and I find it holds interest mo’ betta’ when only playing each track’s chewy center. Second, there were a ton of tracks I wanted in this mix – about twice the amount of a “normal” mix – so I had to let go of the whole 74-80 minute CD-friendly duration to which I normally restrict myself. In order to tell the whole story I needed the full 90 minutes, and so here we have something that is more of a standard-length DJ set. It’ll fit just right on a 90min cassette. 😉

So, that’s the story of “Orders from Captain Zeep”. I might add that his orders are for you to listen to this little number and enjoy its psychedelic chunkiness. It may start out a bit slow, but I promise it eventually gets rockin’.

Thanks for listening!